The Wolf, the Raven, and the Rabbit
by shewolfspirit
Summary: Abuse at the hands of a corrupt church. Then escape with the help of a maybe non-existent demon wolf. Then a nobleman running from his enemies. As if their lives were not hard enough... Rating may go up in future chapters
1. Chapter 1

Ok, chapter 1...So I don't hear s**t about it later, this story doesn't start off with the main characters of Kuroshitsuji, and it might be a few chapters before they show.

Anyhow, please review :).

Please note that the asterisks are a change in character.

I don't own Kuroshitsuji, just my characters.

Capture the Flag, Attempt Number One

Freya

Hunting, and being hunted, in a large crowd certainly had its advantages and disadvantages. An advantage- your hunters cannot keep in sight of each other. Disadvantage- your movement is restricted, and you can give yourself away by moving too fast or acting unlike the crowd.

However, certain _types _of crowds where better than others- crowds that were wild and busy made it easier to counter your hunters, so you can reflect a take-down to match the goings-on of the crowd. So vital not to draw attention.

And there so no better crowd than a Mardi Gras Festival.

The darkness of the alley was quickly coming to an end, its mouth flushed orange and red with the flickering light of torches. The dull reverberation of the crowd was slowly mounting to a roar and the scent of roasting meat, people and most predominately, alcohol floated down the alley.

I emerged from darkness and all the shadows of the sensations suddenly crashed into me. I sneezed, so strong was the scent of liquor. The crowd was all bright colored cloaks and party masks.

So I would stand out. Thankfully, the owners of market-stalls were more than willing to provide.

I approached, skirting the main body of the crowd. I hung back slightly, and listened as the merchants shouted out their prices. I sighed- they were asking way too much for a bit a thin cloth and paper. I discretely grabbed a mask and a cloak, and slipped away.

The mask was a black, its shape raven-like, black feathers lining its edges. The cloak was of light cotton and a deep, wine red. The cloak concealed everything except my height; now I could move in the crowd without too much attention being drawn to me.

I looked out over the crowd; in the center of the mass of people stood a small church, its bell tower scraping the night sky. Fluttering in the tower windows, a stark white flag, a crimson cross embossed upon it. Such a taunting target, but reaching it, not so much.

Suddenly, a man broke from the crowd, and began to follow as I wandered around. My heart rate began to rise, the precursor to the kill, a burning desire. Somehow, I kept myself from faltering; I wanted so badly to look back to make sure that the man was still following. But I knew he still lingered.

He thought he was the wolf, and I, the rabbit. Too bad- whenever does the rabbit chase the wolf? When the wolf wears a rabbit's skin.

But no matter- the chasie always had the advantage.

I forced my way into a small group, of which for extremely…active. At least six of them were engaged some manner of a fight.

As I entered the circle, the man sped up and grabbed hold of my shoulder. As he did, I twisted in his grasp and launched a brutal kick. His knee buckled with a brutal _crack._ As he lurched forward, suddenly top-heavy, I leapt back, following up with a kick to the face. Blood erupted from his broken nose.

"_You bitch!" _ he barked, which earned several odd looks from the surrounding crowd. That could be a problem.

I grinned, "Come on now, you are no fun at all." Then I clenched my fist and punched him in the nose. I felt more bones crunch underneath my hand, and I knew at once that it was a killing blow, as shards of bone pierced his brain. I heard his heart hitch once, then fall silent.

His body hit the ground with a dull thud as I turned and walked away. I knew I had more pursuers- but until they made obvious themselves, there was nothing I could do.

The bell tower called to me, yet I knew I shouldn't approach. But then again, an approach would draw them out. Absentmindedly, I began to chew my nails as I contemplated different approaches. It was blessedly dark at the back of the church and people avoided the area.

Except for three people. The battle-blood rose, and then there was no thought. Only action.

Then the world was red, and two were dead and one was running, and I chased. How I loved the chase, the _chase…_ His panicked heartbeat, so _sweet, _so _enticing_…Then sharp claws tore through flesh, hot blood, screams…

A flash of light…pain, such incredible pain…then darkness.

Agito

Pain, in both my arms, in my shoulders, elbows and wrists. I arched my back, in an attempt to gain any slack in sleeves which pinned my arms to my chest. As I did, I felt the leather strap biting into my back, reminding me of just how tightly I was bound. So I stretched my cramping legs, bound together at the ankles and knees by leather straps.

The all-too familiar sense of panic swept over me, my helplessness once again presented to me. I found myself struggling against the straight-jacket, and I felt blood dripping through my fingers as scabs were ripped off against the rough canvas. Fresh bruises would appear on my legs later.

Slowly, my panic subsided.

"Well, well, my friend. How you doing today?" A voice asked, and I looked over. Sitting in the darkest recess of the small room, sat a white rabbit. I could only look, the muzzle preventing any form of speech whatsoever.

But this was no _ordinary _animal- its eyes held a predatory look about them, and where the whites of its eyes were supposed to be, black. Jet-black.

Once I would have been angered at its appearance. But now, nothing. I had wasted enough trying to harm it, free or not. And as long as it was around, I would never be free. It had gone to great lengths to make sure of that. As I sat there, it began to rant, about anything and everything.

I closed my eyes, hoping it would take its leave soon. Gradually, the ranting lowered to droning, and droning to whispering. Whispering was the most maddening. Its voice edged closer, closer, _closer…_until it was right in my ears, _whispering._

Light flooded the room, red and orange all I saw as I kept my eyes closed. I knew who they were, and I had no reason to look at them.

"Look, he has got his hands bleedin' again," one voice spoke; I quickly looked around. Of course, the beastie was gone.

"No need to worry about that," the other doctor said, as he moved into the room. He reached behind me, and detached the chain that ran from the steel band around my neck to the ring set in the wall. Then he undid the straps on my legs.

They each grabbed an arm and hauled me to my feet. I moaned, as the pain of the movement added to the excruciating pain there already was.

I could barely put any weight on my legs, not strong enough to stand. Not that it mattered- I wouldn't be standing for long.

As much as I dreaded what was to come, there was nothing I could do.

Within five minutes, I was laid out on a bed, wrists bound to each of the posts by the leather straps of the jacket. Both ankles, were, to bound in a similar way.

I slowly pulled against the bonds, to no avail. There never was.

Out in the hall, there were three voices, the two doctors and a another.

The third voice suddenly rose in volume, and a stranger looked into the room; a brutal smile overcame him. "Ah, young…Perfect."

Freya

I snarled, deep and low in my throat. For a moment, my attackers balked, but then resumed their assault. One would think that facing off with a huge black wolf would send even the hardiest of men running. But these were not _normal _men- these were church men, men of god.

And they were more than willing to die for that god.

My claws scraped against the stone floor of the cellar as I lunged forward, only to be snapped to a stop by the chain wrapped around my throat. I landed heavily, and whined, trying not to place any weight on my injured leg.

_Bastard shot me…_I'd unintentionally transformed, an effect of an inexperienced demon gripped by blood-lust, during the slaughter of the lesser church men. As one of them had fled, I chased him and, when I killed him, someone had shot me. And as I lay there in pain, had taken me…_somewhere._ And chained me up.

Great. Just great. Now I was trapped, stuck in animal form, facing off against two men with whips.

A reverend, by his clothing, twirled the whip; the look on his face was dead serious. "Abomination, suffer before the men of god and repent." Before I'd even seen it move, the tip had sliced through the flesh of my muzzle. Then the whip cracked. Then it lashed back, slicing across my right eye. Instantly, my vision was stained red, and pain like I'd never felt before exploded.

The whipping lasted almost an hour.

Finally, they left. Blood splattered the walls; I could smell it. My blood. It ran into my mouth and my eyes.

The small room was filled with a quiet mewling, a terrible sound. Then I realized that it was me, and I tried to silence it, to no avail.

Every inch of my body had at least one slash, each one burning. I lay on my side, unable to move.

But slowly, ever so slowly, the pain faded as the wounds began to heal, severed skin and muscle began to stitch itself back together. After several minutes (or was it hours?), all the slices were healed, or at least, not bleeding.

When it didn't utterly kill me to move, I rolled onto my belly and placed my feet underneath. I rose to my feet with brutal slowness. Standing there, I was hit by a wave of dizziness, and was damn close to going back down.

And if that happened, I was not sure that I could get back up. I slumped up against the wall, to await the time when I could walk without staggering.

When the vertigo finally passed, I tested the length of the chain. Almost eight feet. The room was small, maybe ten by ten, and the end of the chain was embedded in one of the corners opposing the doors. Between me, the door, and the opposing wall was two feet.

There was no furniture, just an unforgiving cobblestone floor and walls. And almost complete darkness, expect for the light seeping in under the door.

With nothing else to do, I laid back down, muzzle resting on my paws. Bored out of my goddamned mind, I dug my claws into the grout between the cobblestones. I watched ebony tips dig into the mortar.

Then in the distance, I heard a door creak open. I huffed, and rolled back onto my side. No need to draw any more attention to myself than necessary.

Footsteps drew closer, then voices, however, I could not make out much. There were at least three people. Then I caught the scent of blood, and other bodily fluids, and leather. I didn't give a damn about the others; that one was the one that had my attention.

The lock clicked and the door swung open; the scent flowed into the room unhindered, so strong it brought on an almost instant wave of nausea and squeezed my eyes shut. I shuddered as feet shuffled into the small room- they took great care to keep out of range and I could feel their eyes on me.

"You sure it will not harm 'im?" one asked.

"No. It cannot reach him." The other replied. A chain rattled, and two sets of footsteps exited the room. And they made sure to lock the heavy door behind them.

Curiosity certainly peeked, I contained it, keeping dead still, simply to make sure he wasn't dangerous. I had had my fare share tricksters.

So I analyzed everything I could from his cent- deriving anything, and everything. It was definitely a he- males had a strong, musky scent. His main emotion was depression, was bitter smell. There was also a buried anger, a sharp thing buried underneath waves of depression. As for the others, those concerned me greatly. Because I didn't know the reason for their being.

I lifted my head and stared at the person crouched in the corner. No, not crouching. _Cowering_. Knees drawn up to the chest, arms wrapped around his chest. I could not see his face.

No, that wasn't right either. His legs are pinned together at the ankles and knees, and his arms, their position up too high, too close to his armpits. It was no natural position. A straight-jacket.

As I watched, he jerked, like he was woken up from a nightmare. The smell of pain filled the air. He slowly stretched out his legs, and I could see everything. A muzzle and a collar, on which a chain was looped onto a ring set in the corner. The red-brown of drying blood showed through the grey canvas of the jacket, where canvas was pulled taunt over his hands, pinning them to his side. But there was more blood, lower.

Before I could stop myself, I growled. Suddenly, his eyes were on me, brilliant, summer-sky blue in the dark. But any beauty they had was marred by the fear I saw in them.

Agito

A pair of eyes, each one as large man's fist. Pitch-black pupils were surrounded by a blazing orange ring, a combination of colors like the dieing sunset, brilliant orange fading to yellow, as variable corona. However, a ring of blue surrounded the ring of colors, navy blue nesting next to the burnt yellow and fading to a blue so pale, it was almost grey.

And teeth, _huge _white teeth, at least four inches long. They harbored an uncanny glow, wickedly sharp crescent moons in the dark.

All I could see were those eyes and those teeth. All I could hear was the growling like thunder echoing in the room.

I could feel the panic building- what if it could reach me?

Suddenly the growling silenced, and those glowing teeth were hidden as whatever-it-was stopped snarling. But those eyes still stared.

I lowered my gaze, so as not to provoke it. I pushed as far back into the corner as I could, and once again drew my legs up to my chest. But I reconsidered; kicking it would certainly goad such a confidant animal into attacking.

Death was preferable to this. But what if it didn't kill, only ripped me open? Then I would face a slow, painful death by infection. But that death was faster than the one I was living now. Not that what I existed in was living.

So I did nothing.

"What a painful way to die, torn apart by _el lobo."_ I glanced to my left; sitting less an a foot away was the rabbit, once again taunting.

Then I occurred to me; maybe the other beast was a hallucination as well? I was too frightful of it to test that theory.

A great sigh from the…_wolf…_stole my attention and the sound of movement and the clicking of claws. Then the chain rattled; I stole a look at the beast and the glowing eyes were gone.

At least beasts did not whip you.

Freya

As I watched him, his emotions swung from fear, to contemplation, to _panic-_ at that point, his stare was locked onto a certain point, like he was seeing something. Whatever it was, it brought on very strong emotion.

Eventually, the storm of emotion settled into nothingness. And somehow, that was worse, even though I still owned my own emotion.

I honestly felt pity for this abused, broken child. But there was nothing I could do, at present. So I curled up in the corner, and eventually slept.

And I dreamt of the boy.


	2. Chapter 2

Amusement and Escape

* * *

Freya

* * *

I listened as the boy slowly woke from sleep, the very fitful thing; the entire time he'd slept, he'd moaned and shuddered in pain. I slowly reached out to him, trying to soothe the maelstrom that was his dreaming mind, without attracting his attention, and eventually, the fit passed, and he fell into a dreamless slumber.

A degree of telepathy had its advantages.

I watched him, and he, I. He was obviously not a ghost with blue eyes, despite a stupid thought I had had in the middle of the night, But then again, he not doubt thought the same. However, even in daylight, I wasn't sure that he _wasn't._ He face was beyond pale, ghostly in his appearance. I could see the blood pulsing through his veins, so pale was he. Pale blonde hair, roughly shoulder length, fell around his face, partially shielding him from my stare.

And he was thin, very thin. The fact that he had to be pushing seven feet only exaggerated that fact.

I became content to watch, not really seeing, and dozed.

No, something was wrong. Convulsions, his eyes rolled back into his head.

With no thought, I breached his mind once again, and was almost consumed by black madness. With practiced ease, I built every mental barrier I knew to protect myself from the roiling water, trying to break this fit. I searched, and searched for any conscious thought. _Goddamn, where the hell was he? _

The black waters beckoned, and I dove into their embrace. In that blackness, I found some remnant of thought, a sliver of white-silver in a sea of black. I called, dragging that sliver of sanity from the sea of madness, to the surface, only to no avail. In horror, I saw the shell of sanity beginning to crack. In a last ditch attempt, I entered the last hold of sanity. Inside, _voices, so many voices_….memories, brutal memories, broken person, broken mind…beating against sanity's shield. They threatened to shatter my barriers, to intertwine, to become _mine. _

Keeping them out was taking all that I had, no offense. Gathering the last of my strength, I attacked, silencing the voices, and pushing out the encroaching memories. Silence, blessed silence.

Within that last stronghold, I realized I could feel every breath he took, feel the pain in his arms, and lower…And for the first time, I fully understood what was done to him. And would no doubt continue.

I carefully exited that sanctuary; thankfully, the madness had quieted and receded. For now. I entered my own body, grateful for it; yet it somehow felt odd, like it wasn't mine. I honestly don't know why- he was nothing to me… Tired, damn. So tired.

They came back not long after the sun poked through a small window that I hadn't noticed earlier, in the pitch-black of the night. It was the some two from the night before, the ones who had brought in the boy and another.

The first two wore the garbs of a priest, the other remained hidden out in the hall. But I could smell his lust, and growled. The boy looked up at the men, a dazed look in his eyes, and resignation to the fate that awaited him.

Rage filled me- why submit to _that, _of all things_? Submit _to them, these rats of men? And those same men, force that onto someone else?

As they carefully, scooted around me over to him, they kept their eyes on me. That was, until they had to turn around, to unbind the boy. And as the larger one did, he crouched, leg extended slightly behind him.

And for whatever it was worth, I took it.

Fast, so fast, I moved, teeth slicing through skin, muscle, blood, bone…Before he could scream, I arched back, dragging him, and with the ease of lifting a rag doll, threw him against the wall, away from the boy.

Screams filled the room as the two other men fled for their lives. But I didn't give a rat's ass about them.

I backed away, growling. The man whimpered, covering his face with his hands as if that would do him any good. Between his fingers, panic-filled eyes watched. The bitter scent of his panic was exciting, so very enticing…

No. Being overcome by the hunt was what had got me into this. This time, I would not be drawn in so easily.

But rage was a completely different thing.

Before he could act, most of the fingers of his on his left hand were gone, and the majority of several of fingers of the other hands were gone. His mouth opened in a silent scream as blood, his blood, coated his face.

I drew close, backing him into the corner, so close I could feel his breath and warm blood covered my muzzle. I touched him with my nose-what a terrifying thing, looking up the length of two-foot long muzzle, lips pulled back to reveal four-inch long fangs coated in _your blood, _and into blazing eyes? I could only imagine.

Got it sure as hell got the desired effect. His bowels released, much too my cruel amusement.

The whipping that followed was sure as hell worth it.

* * *

Agito

* * *

I was awake, not long after the first rays of sun slipped into the room. I looked over to my 'roommate', for the first time actually getting a proper look at it. The animal was a huge wolf, easily four hundred pounds. Its paws were easily three or four times the size of my hand, eyes the size of my fist, and had to be last _least_ fourteen feet from nose to the tip of its tail.

And its fur was jet-black, and it almost fed on the sun-light, the long guard hairs of its ruff almost silvery in the light. And despite any fear I had, it was a beautiful creature.

As I watched, one of its ears twitched in dream.

Suddenly, two brilliant blues orbs were staring at me, and I started-any traces of orange that had inhabited them were totally gone. But this blue was just as enchanting, navy at its center, and fading to almost silver at the very edge.

Its great body shuddered as it huffed, throwing up dust from its breath. It stood and stretched lazily, bones cracking. Then it shook, and I took note of the lattice-work of scars running across its body, the fur not yet adequate to cover the whitish-pink of healing skin.

I tried to shift, only to be almost reduced to tears as the pain lanced through me, and memory…Or were they memory, or just dreams?….Crippling, in my legs, in my stomach, in my chest, head…Nausea followed…No, not with the muzzle….

Finally the nausea passed, as did the pain; I leaned back, sweat dripping into my eyes.

The wolf had carefully laid back down, muzzle resting on its paws. And still it stared. There was something…different about this animal. That look, far too…_knowing…_

And then came the 'priests'.

The larger of the two enter first, followed by his mouse-ish companion. A third man stood in the corridor, looking in; I shuddered- he frequented this place, and was especially brutal.

I didn't fight them; it would do no good, anyway. I had, at first…but that was long ago.

As the first of the restraints fell away, I looked over their shoulders at the wolf. For whatever reason, maybe….No. That was stupid. I looked down.

Suddenly, the larger of the two men was jerked back. Then, like he weighed nothing, was thrown against the opposite wall. Blood dripped from the wolf's fangs, and the back of the priest's right thigh was completely gone, shredded.

The other one squeaked, and then bolted, screaming out of the room.

But the wolf didn't even look. It had drawn closer to its prey, lips curled back, nose almost touching the priest's. All traces of blue were gone from its eyes- now they were dominated by orange.

In a futile attempt at protection, he'd covered his face with his hands. With a bite almost faster than I could comprehend, most of his fingers were gone, and the blood began to flow. I felt a dull feeling, akin to a brutal sense of pleasure. That one regularly beat me- now it was his turn to feel pain.

But instead of killing him, it stood there, their faces pressed together, snarling, ears pressed flat against its head.

The next moment a whip cracked, and the animal backed away, only slightly. The man bolted, or crawled, dragging his ruined leg behind him, trailing blood. Torn ligaments and muscle trailed like red snakes. He huddled behind the man bearing the whip- the wolf turned to face him, still snarling, eyes filled with rage.

The whip cracked again, and more blood splattered the walls. Yet it did not back down, not once. Only when it collapsed into a pool of its own blood, did the whipping stop.

"Damn beast." the man snarled, before turning to stomp through the door. However, movement stopped him- the damn thing had craned its head forward, tongue reaching to lap at the priest's blood leading towards the door. Its lips once again peeled back, in a hellish grin, a last act of defiance. Disgusted, he slammed the door shut behind him.

I watched the entire time, unable to look away.

Why, though? Why did it attack that man? It's not like it was threatening him, all their attention had been on me…so why?

Its eyes opened, breaking the mask of blood that had built up over them. It glanced over- the orange had once again receded. Now, it only looked tired. I slowly stretched out, and I realized something. The customary pressure of the straps on my legs was gone. In their panic, they had forgotten to replace them.

I debated with myself for roughly two seconds before I stood up and walk over to the beaten animal, stepping through still-warm pools of blood in bare feet. I sat down in that corner, and slowly extended my leg so that my toes barely brushed against the tips of its fur.

With a moan, it turned to face me. Those eyes, so knowing…

_What a pitiful bunch you are, both of you? _the voice spoke, its speaker not bothering to present itself today.

_Shut up. _For once, it didn't argue.

After a while, the pool of blood I was sitting in turned cold, and I began to shiver.

A chain rattled, and a mass of warmth that was the wolf settled next to me. I looked down; those bleeding marks were because of me-always, always because of me…

I first I didn't recognize it for what it was, only that it was there, tugging at the edge of my being. Gradually, it drew closer, closer. I retreated deeper, entrenching myself deep. But the other mind did not attack, only observed from a distance. I tried to probe from within myself, only to find a wall of seamless being, no faults, no cracks to take advantage of. I would have to venture out it I wanted any useful information.

And that was something I would not yet do.

And for as strong as the other's mind was, there were no words.

* * *

Freya

* * *

I had underestimated just how strong this boy's mental defense was. All I had done was present myself, and he instantly thrown up everything he had. And while maintaining that impressive defense, had sent a part of himself out to investigate my presence. It was easy enough to ward off his petty offense, but the fact that he could even do it while maintaining such as defense was impressive in and of itself.

It would do me well not to underestimate this boy again.

However, there were cracks. Voices constantly poured from these, whispering in the mental silence. I knew better than to try and exploit these- I would end up utterly insane.

In the mental silence, I began to wonder how long the castle he'd built would stand before it sank into the black waters of his madness. I did not use words to communicate, not yet. He was skittish, at best, and extremely vary, and with a mental defense like that, his mind had no doubt been invaded before.

I hoped to, at least, gain some semblance of recognition, before I openly communicated with him. Trust was something that had to be gained, but not now. There would be a time for that later.

So, I contemplated, only allowing my presence to be felt, as I thought on how best to proceed.

Then, my body made known its hunger, and I had a perfect thing. At first, I built an image of a roasted turkey, sitting on a round table, beautifully garnished. I could taste its smoke-y flavor in my mouth, and added that too, and along with everything else, every detail I could recall, from the heat, and the steam rising from its crisp skin, and its smoke-y scent.

So I presented the mental image, and I felt his mind contort in a moment of confusion. At first, I was sure he wouldn't respond, but then, slowly, clumsily, he created his own image, presented like a flag upon his castle. But it lacked, colors and sensations dull, because he lacked any first-hand memory of it to draw upon. It was like trying to visualize a person's face with only a written description.

I felt pity- sorrowful thing.

And I replied in kind, and we communicated like that, in images and senses. The things we 'discussed' were of little importance- mostly different foods, which then shifted to animals, after both of our stomachs growled. I felt his guarded amusement at that, and that troubled me more.

Small talk was all this was, but it gave me grounds to stand on, something that I had in common with his boy, whose name I did not even know.

Then his mood, already guarded and wary, deepened. I felt the question forming, with the use of words. Carefully, an image formed of me, as he perceived me. The unasked question hung around it like a cloud.

I felt my mind slipping away back into a body that was too tired to remain. Before I could answer, I was sleep.

* * *

Agito

* * *

I felt the other mind start to slide away, slowly at first, and then, in an instant was gone. But before, it was completely gone, it sent forth a fragment of thought, coming to rest against my mental barriers. I watched, wary. I would have to leave the protection of my stronghold to retrieve it. And leave myself open to attack, as well. Yet I couldn't sense the other mind, at all?

Maybe it was safe…but still I waited.

However, as always, my curiosity got the better of me-after making sure this fragment had trace of sentient thought, I brought it inside. It was a paper swan, brilliantly white.

I carefully unfolded it, and written in elegant black script was a question- 'What is your name?' I pondered that question- should I answer; I decided that it knowing my name would do no harm, and I set it back into the mental silence, to await its retrieval.

All of a sudden, the silence of deafening, and I shuddered. I was always alone; why did it affect me now?

Suddenly, the wolf shifted, and I found an azure eye looking up at me. A warmth like sunlight lanced through the darkness, a ray of bizarre contentment. After a moment of utter shock, I, too, basked in that warmth, for a moment content.

Then the paper swan flew back. Written below my name, 'Agito', was written in the same black writing- 'Freya.'

Freya. What an interesting name.

* * *

"What matter of products do you have for sale?"

"Well, good sir, a number of fine subjects, ranging from very young to the early twenties and in all manner of appearances are available. "

"I also have heard that you have, in your possession…a certain creature, which has captured my attention."

"No, no, no, that thing if far too dangerous for one such as yourself…"

"Dangerous? You misunderstand my intentions- I want it for the very sake that it was _dangerous."_

"…Alright. But, if you'll permit it, your men must handle it, from beginning to end of the process."

"My men are trained in such things; very well." Hands shook, and money changed hands.

"That is for the beast. I'll no doubt purchase a number of other subjects."

* * *

Freya

* * *

In the dark. Again. At least, this time I was alone. Different men from the priests, men trained in the handling of dangerous animal, had taken me from the cell, and placed me in another one; two heavy chains ran from my collar to rings embedded in the floor. I pulled, but, just as I thought, did not give way at all.

I looked around; the room was round, glass on every wall. Behind the glass sat people, and above the glass, hung bells.

Suddenly, I light flared to my far left, illuminated a small girl, chained to the floor. Then, a voice stated- "Bidding will start was one hundred pounds." The bells immediately began to toll, as the buyers placed their bids.

An _auction, a fucking auction? _

Then, as quickly as she was there, the circle of light went dark as the bid completed. A second light flared to life, and other bidding cycle went around; dark, light, dark, light, moving quickly down the line, each poor soul being sold.

I closed my eyes- now was not the time to concentrate on them. But then the light flared on directly to my left, and of course, shivering, was the boy, blue eyes far away. The bidding commenced for him; and the man that won, I could smell _his lust _bleeding out from the booth.

Dammit.

I only had a few seconds, and I took it. Then the light went out, and a voice spoke, "Now, for those of you into…our wilder merchandize, I present you with this!" With that, the light above me flared on.

I could hear the gasps in the booths and from the announcer. I lowered my head and the collar fell to the floor.

And too late did they realize their mistake.

* * *

_hoped you liked it...:)_

_so, please review, and constructive criticism is welcomed _


	3. Chapter 3

Moonlight and Wolves

Agito

The blinding light died, and for a second, as the auctioneer rambled on, the place was dark. I couldn't barely hear his voice, because so many others were screaming, surrounding, crushing, dead fingers gripping at me, threatening to drag me down…

Then the light flared on once again, and they were gone, just like that. I heard the audible gasps of surprise; what could make _all _of them recoil in surprise? I lifted my eyes to look, (god, moving was like trying to alter the laws of universe), and sitting there, in the pool of harsh white light, was a girl I'd never seen, crouching. Long black hair concealed most of her, flowing across her shoulders to conceal her face, and down her back, like a cape.

I saw her lower her head, and a heavy steel collar fell, clattering on the floor. And then I understood, and rejoiced.

As the collar came to a stop, the complete silence was broken as a command was barked, and the thunder of boots on the stone floor.

A man appeared from the darkness and grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. He raised he hand to strike her- he never got the chance. She looked up from under the sheet of ebony hair, and then, in motion. Claws tore into his belly, and he doubled over in pain, releasing his grip.

And so fast was the change, one moment human, the next, animal, and her paws on either side of his head and ivory teeth sliced his jugular, blood pouring. As his body fell to the floor, the first screams of panic rang throughout the room., then the sound of people stampeding to get away.

The huge wolf walked over, long legs easily eating up the distance, and as I looked up at her, I truly understood just how _large _she was. Then she lowered her head, and her jaws found chain, and with no effort at all, it shattered under her bite.

Her eyes met mine, a look of excitement their main emotion. I saw her reach forward, teeth pressed into the flesh of my throat- but it never occurred, just that look. Then, as the first (and last) of the brave men enter the room, she turned to face them, ignoring me all together.

I could do nothing, even though I was freed- I was too enamored at this bloody spectacle waiting to happen. In fact, I wanted to _watch_, to see the people who tortured me die before me. So I stayed.

Her fur bristled, making her look bigger than she already was, baring white teeth stained red, a terrible snarl echoing in the room. But she was a patient- they formed a circle, heavy spears at the ready. But still she didn't attack, and finally the standoff was too much, and one of them rushed forward. With practiced ease, she dodged to the side, the spear meeting only air where her head had been. She then twisted, jaws snapping closed on the brittle handle of the spear. And as she did, she pushed forward, sending the man tumbling backwards as the shaft rammed backwards onto his stomach.

The spear clattered to the floor, as she dodged a spear thrust. This time, she leapt forward, onto the inside of the strike, and almost casually swatted him, and sent him flying into several of his companions. I heard the sound of his bones shattering.

Now she was outside the circle, looking back over her shoulder, as if saying, 'What the hell are you waiting for?'

They turned to face her, all but one. He staggered over, and brutally kicked me. I felt several of my ribs crack, and I gasped. I saw him raise the spear and tried to get away; unfortunately, I was not fast enough. He cracked the handle against my side of my head, and black and white filled my vision, and ringing in my ears, and so much pain…

I knew he continued, but I could not feel any of them….and the darkness called, so sweet, a relief from the pain…

The glitter of the spear descended, but shuddered to a stop, a huge presence now hovering over me. Its presence sundering the very air around it… What was it…? I could not remember….

A huge black mass appeared; and I reached out to touch it, such soft fur…but I was still in the jacket, right? I could not, not in that…but here I was, running my fingers through silk….

How? How could this be?

Freya

The boy collapsed in a bloody heap, and his attacker backed away as I l stepped over the fallen boy. I snarled, and that was all it took. The coward dropped his spear, and ran. I nearly chased him, the hunter side of me screaming to do so. But I had other things to worry about than a yellow-belly.

I changed back, for a moment, and loosened the straps of the jacket, and slipped it over his head, so his arms were in front of him. I then changed back, and slipped my head through the loop made by the straps and his arms. I turned and with my muzzle, pushed the boy's limp form onto my back.

I paused as a loud thud echoed throughout the now silent room, ears perked, alert. After several seconds of silence, I quickly, but carefully rose to my feet, as to not disturb the boy too much. I scented the air, trying to locate the way out. And the glass partitions called to me; I charged and leapt. My paws met the glass first, and I turned my head away, to protect my own eyes, but still protect the boy from shards of glass that otherwise would have sliced him if I'd lowered my head instead. I landed heavily on the other side, and a sharp pain lanced through my ankle. The extra hundred pounds was not doing anything in my favor.

Thankfully, the door was wide open, the mistake of panicked men. I trotted through the door and into an empty grey hallway. I lifted my nose; the scent of people was stronger to the right, so I went that way. I followed the scent through the twists and turns of the compound, and I could feel the floor sloping upward.

Then I rounded a final corner, I stopped short. A mass of people were pressed up against a heavy steel door, fist red from pounding at its unforgiving surface. They were locked in, and I felt a slice of rage; these people were willing to sacrifice their own to keep me in. And for the moment, they did not realize my presence.

I watched them beat themselves bloody against the door, and against themselves, as the began to turn on each other. I backed away, back around the corner, far enough were they could not see me, but I could see them. I lowered into the shadows and waited. Gradually, the fighting and screaming died down to whimpering, then silence.

After a while, a small opening slide open in the door, and a voice stated, "You all still alive?" Most of them were in shock, and did not answer. "Hmmmm….if not, I got not reason to open this door." At that, several voices barked, voices so strained that they could not even form words.

When they spoke, the sound of the locks beginning slid back pierced the air. A wave of fresh air blasted down hall, and I exploded from my hiding spot; I was three-quarters of the way there before they noticed me. I jumped, easily clearing the group of terrified clientele. I snarled and charged through the opening. A bullet howled past my head, and my ears rang from the explosion of gunpowder. The pistol clicked again, as the man cocked back the hammer. I was fast, but not fast enough to close the forty yards before he pulled the trigger.

A shadow rushed up behind him, and the man collapsed. In the shadow's hands flashed the blade of a knife. "This way, demon." He said, and turned away. For whatever reason, I followed.

The boy, without fail, led me outside. When we finally arrived, the eastern horizon was just being stained red by the rising sun.

He stopped, dead still, "There is a town in the area. And this boy requires medical attention here soon." at this he paused, "but I doubt you know where it is. If you will take me with you, I will lead you there." I found that statement extremely funny- he was trying to bargain with an animal. But I honestly did not know the area, and I did not have the time to wander the area. And Agito, I believe his name was, needed attention soon.

I nodded, or as close as my wolf form would allow. The boy grinned, "This way." With that, he trotted into the woods surrounding the non-descript building.

"So, do you have a name, wolf?" he asked. "I know you can speak…" Were all the ones that went in there this broken?

I usually did not speak in my wolf state, but that did not mean I could not, if the situation required it. "Freya." The formation of the word was odd in my mouth.

"So you are….female?" Wow. This boy had spoken to me more in five minutes than the one on my back had two days, and that the fact he was not surprised that he was escorting a talking wolf intrigued me. "Yes. So what is your name, boy?" For several seconds, he did not answer.

"I do not have one."

"All beings have names."

"I suppose that is true…but the name I blessed, or cursed with, I will never use it again, for it has brought me nothing but trouble." I said nothing. From the way he spoke, he was well-education, or perhaps in a noble of some sort.

We stumbled up upon a dilapidated stable, and the roof had collapsed on one side. It smelled of old hay, mold, and rotten wood. And it was obvious that no one been here in ages. But there _were _people nearby; I could smell fire. I scanned over the tops, and spotted a column of whispery smoke.

"Let us rest for a few moments." I stated; the dead wait of the boy on my back was quickly draining my little remaining energy. I was running on empty, not only from my body healing, but the use of telepathy took its toll. Before the boy could reply, I walked into the barn. I slumped down in one of the stables, exhausted. Carefully, I slipped the boy off my back and slid the makeshift harness from around my neck.

However, as exhausted as I was, there were still things to do. I looked at the blonde-haired boy, and he was covered from head to toe in blood. He was dreadfully pale. I pulled myself to my feet; if I went down now, there was no chance I'd get back up.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I have to get something to help him." I snarled back. "Alright. But I am coming with you." I sort of wanted to him stay, to make sure that the other boy did not die, but I did not trust him enough for that. We broke into a trot as we exited the barn, and headed towards the column of smoke.

Suddenly, as we were about to cross a small road, something made me stop. The boy stepped around me and out onto the road. I grabbed hold of him and pulled him back into the covers of the trees. "Stay down." I commanded, as I crouched down as well. Several seconds later, a pair creature swung around the turn in the round several hundred yards away. It was a small machine, slightly smaller than a horse, with four long legs connected to an aerodynamic body. A single rider sat crouched over the machine's controls.

They quickly ate up the distance, and passed us by. But my attention was still riveted on the turn in the road. I could feel the rumble of something reverberating through my paws. Then I heard the sound of huge footsteps, and a massive machine rounded the corner. It was a bipedal machine, at least thirty feet tall. The cockpit, with its heavy guns at the ready, swayed with each massive step it took. The visors of the cockpit were half open, and I could see the pilots inside. On the heavy armour plates of the machine's legs was the Phantomhive seal, the most powerful family in England.

The huge machine lumbered by in the wake of the scouts. However, despite its slow speed, I knew an experienced pilot could charge the walker at over fifty miles an hour.

After the walker and its entourage passed, I slipped across the road, boy in tow. The walkers in the area was not a good sign, and it bothered me. Why were Phantomhive walkers _here? _Vincent Phantomhive only dispatched walkers for the most extreme of cases, and his was the only family to even have walkers. Not to mention they were constantly upgrading them.

That made for a potentially deadly enemy. And from want I knew of the man, that he never stopped pursuing his goal once he'd set his sights on it. So whatever he was after in this area, they were sure to catch.

Suddenly, all the trees were gone and I was standing in a yard. A small farmhouse stood on the other side of the yard, and a clothesline stretched from its left side. I looked up at the sky, which had turned an indigo, instead of black. I was running out of time.

Hanging from the clothesline, were of course, clothes, including a sheet, pants, shirts…which I would need, seeing as how the bloody rags that were now stretched beyond any recognizable form as a shirt and pants could no longer be considered clothes. I trotted over, and pulled down the sheet, several shirts and pants. Well, almost everything.

"Boy, wrap this up and start heading back towards the barn." I commanded. "Alright. But what are you going to do?" He asked, finally catching up. I had not realized that I had left him behind. He crouched down, and began to pile the clothing into the sheet and bundled it up. He looked at me, concerned.

"See you soon?" He questioned.

"Yeah. But there are some things a need to get first."

I heard him turned and break for the cover of the trees. When he was gone, I moved into the small porch, and once again, became human. I tried the door, and found it unlocked. Inside, I scanned the room. There was a couch, a fireplace and a china cabinet. There was nothing in here that I needed.

I searched the house, and finally found a few medicines and bandages in the kitchen. I slipped back into the living room, when something caught my attention. It was a rifle, hanging above the fireplace. I could definitely use that. As I reached for it, one of the glass vial fell and shattered on the floor.

_Goddamn it, _how could I have slipped up like that? But things went from bad to worse, as a snore from the couch sobered me further. Shit, I missed someone sleeping on the couch too? Damn….

With the man mumbling in the sleep that comes just before waking, I snatched the rifle and bolted. I shoved the medicine vials in satchel, of course stolen, and changed back into the wolf. I picked up the satchel and the rifle and ran as fast as I could towards the barn.

I overtook the boy less the two hundred yards in.

Damn, I was tired.

"That is all that I can do for him, now. We will just have to see how he is fairing when he wakes." the other boy stated, as he finished dressing Agito's wounds.

"That's good…" I yawned, moving in between the two of them, the boy with no name, and the boy who had no voice; I could smell the snow brewing.

"What troubles you?" he asked, drawing his knees up to his chest.

"They are not the end of it. No…they are just the tail end of something bigger." I stated, resting my muzzle on my paws.

"What makes you say that?"

"Several of them had religious affiliations, and the very fact that Phantonhive is here means something is up." This boy was not part of the movement; it was something I instinctively knew.

"Yes, that is true."

"We need to get close to Phantomhive if we are to figure out what is going on." We ended on that note, and as the snow storm peaked, with icy winds howling through the cracks, and snow building, I ended up with two boys curled up against me, shivering in the cold And honestly, I did not mind the extra warmth.


End file.
